Pickup Man M7 ATF AU
by senorabutterfly
Summary: Chris' Ram gets a little beat up during a chase. Inspired by the first lines of the chorus of Joe Diffie's song Pickup Man. Not mine, no profit made.


Pickup Man M7 ATF AU

A/N: Inspired by the first lines of the chorus of the old Joe Diffie song, Pickup Man.

The black Dodge Ram barreled down the dirt road, hitting rocks and ruts at impressive speed that the talented driver couldn't avoid. The sandy-haired passenger was jolted in his spot even with the seat belt in place. One hand went up to press above him to try to keep his head from banging on the roof. The struts of the truck groaned in protest as the vehicle bounced over a rock the size of a small boulder. Gravel skittered and flew, some coming up to ping against the undercarriage of the pickup as it fish-tailed around a hairpin curve with the side of a mountain right next to the door on one side and a deep ravine that disappeared into a mass of trees and stones on the other side. The blond driving was concentrating on keeping up with the Jeep full of armed men in front of him, not only having to dodge the natural obstacles as much as possible but also the occasional bullet that was hurriedly aimed at the truck. Thank goodness for bullet-proof glass!

Vin Tanner turned to look at Chris Larabee, even as he let out an involuntary "Ouch, shit!" when his forehead banged on the side window. Maybe he should roll it down . . . .

"How long we gonna keep this up, Cowboy?" asked the sniper in his soft Texas drawl.

Larabee kept his gaze on what qualified as the road in front of him, swerving to the side as far as he could to miss a pothole half the size of the truck.

"Until one of us runs out of gas or goes over the edge." The answer was gritted out between clenched teeth, the truck now having to negotiate around a fallen tree limb that partially blocked the path. "Doesn't look like they're plannin' to stop and surrender."

Vin nodded, his own teeth clicking together painfully as the tires on his side dug in and climbed over the branch that Larabee couldn't totally avoid.

Just their luck to run into armed bootleggers on what was supposed to be a quiet fishing trip, thought Tanner with a mental sigh. The ATF team called informally 'The Magnificent Seven' were excellent at their jobs but they did seem to find trouble no matter where they were. Or to be specific, it often found them. And the men took their jobs seriously, even when off duty.

This time, Chris and Vin hadn't even known the other men were around until the paranoid dealers in illicit alcohol started firing on them as they started to pull off at a remote spot near the river they planned to fish. Rolling down their windows and identifying themselves as agents for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives as they pulled their own weapons hadn't improved the situation any either.

The three figures facing them had just piled frantically into the running Jeep that the fourth member had already started. The smaller vehicle was facing outward, so it sped past the Ram, Larabee and Tanner having to duck as the passenger in back on the driver's side sprayed the interior of the Dodge through the open truck window as he flew past. The shots had passed out the other side through Vin's open window, so neither agent was hurt, but both were plenty pissed. Rolling up the windows, they started after the other vehicle.

Chris lost a few precious minutes as he turned the extended-cab truck around in the small pull-off space, several bushes and small trees getting flattened in the process. Larabee had a tendency to use the big pickup as a bulldozer if the occasion called for it, and willingly paid some very high premiums on his insurance for full coverage!

Once the lean form got onto the narrow dirt road, he pressed on the accelerator until the Ram caught up with the Jeep. The bootleggers had probably hoped that the agents would get stuck, but no such luck. Firing sporadically at the truck, the men had no idea that their attempts to discourage the two followers were only making them more determined to catch up. Every ding and dent in the Dodge just made Chris growl low in his throat like a big cat. Four against two wasn't bad odds when the two were Larabee and Tanner, and the shooters would be lucky if the angry duo didn't rip some limbs off like the felines they resembled instead of just arresting them. Firing on federal agents wasn't tolerated lightly.

The men in front were finally running out of ammunition apparently as Chris saw a small stretch of straight road ahead and pushed on the gas pedal a little harder. A sharp curve was on the other side of the flat area and the dark-garbed figure wanted to catch up before they got there. This was gonna end, even if he had to ram the Jeep to do it. The pickup had a sturdy brush guard in front that would work well as a dozer and the powerful Hemi was quite capable of pushing the smaller vehicle wherever he wanted it.

The bootleggers must have read the dangerous look on the blond's face however, because suddenly the guns disappeared from sight. Vin was just starting to say "Looks like they got the message. . ." when one of the figures in the Jeep came up with a bottle with a rag stuffed in the end. A small gas can was visible as well.

"Ah, hell!" muttered Vin as the man with the bottle pulled out a lighter and lit the piece of cloth. Throwing it as hard as he could at the Ram, all four in the Jeep crouched down.

They were close to the end of the straight stretch and Chris was almost on the smaller auto, so the man throwing the now flaming bottle didn't need to aim. Larabee uttered a sting of impressive cuss words as he tried to dodge the Molotov cocktail, but he was too close and there wasn't room.

The bottle hit the windshield and exploded, flames flashing across the glass and bubbling the dark paint of the hood and front edge of the roof. Vin was glad he hadn't rolled his window back down after all as he instinctively ducked and put one arm up to shield his face. Chris could barely see through the sudden wall of fire, but he was now more determined than ever to stop these SOBs. He knew speeding up would only make the flames burn faster, but there was a limited amount of gas and it would soon extinguish itself anyway. Telling Vin to hold on, a booted foot stomped on the accelerator.

The huge truck flew the few yards between the vehicles and hit the Jeep squarely in the rear, bowing the back in toward the roll bar and flinging two of the bootleggers out to the sides. The jolt sent a few drops of flaming liquid from the hood of the Ram into the now mangled back seat of the Jeep. The gas that had been spilled in the making of the improvised explosive caught and the wind made the flames flash almost immediately over the interior of the open vehicle. The driver and front passenger screamed in panic and bailed out, joining their companions in the dirt of the road as the Jeep headed straight for the rock wall that banked one side of the sharp curve directly ahead.

Cussing some more, now joined by Tanner, Chris wrenched the wheel to the right to avoid both of the now prone bootleggers and the flaming wreck of the Jeep in front of him. Metal groaned in protest, but the pickup swerved just in time to miss running over the now frantically scrambling forms in the road. An ebony boot slammed on the brake pedal, and the Ram squealed as it rapidly slowed. Vin opened his door and jumped out before the truck could come to a complete stop. His pistol was immediately pulled and trained on the dazed perps who had apparently lost their will to fight since they all just went flat on their bellies in the dust and put their hands on their heads without being told.

Chris was preparing to exit as soon as the Ram came to a complete stop, but unfortunately the truck still had enough momentum that when the front tires hit the loose gravel at the side of the road, the dark vehicle started sliding. There wasn't enough room for Chris to jerk it sideways, so the pickup teetered on the edge a second and then dipped forward and began plowing through the brush down the side of the mountain.

Vin's yell of warning followed Larabee as the blond struggled to steer even as he continued downward. Thankful for the thick but fairly short growth that slowed his descent, the tall figure managed to avoid the larger trees and rocks until the Ram came to a jolting stop with its bumper against a pile of dirt where a large tree had been uprooted in a wind storm some time in the past. Taking a few deep breaths of relief, Larabee turned the motor off and wrestled his door open. Surveying the scratched and dented truck with its bullet holes and scorched paint, the blond shook his head. His insurance was gonna go up again with this one!

Sticking the keys in his pocket and reaching in to grab a few things he needed, the lean figure began climbing his way back up the wide path of destruction that he'd caused. Thankfully he'd only gone a short distance down the mountain, so he was poking his head over the top in about twenty minutes.

Tanner had the bootleggers tied to trees with rope from their own mangled Jeep, and was peering worriedly over the edge when Chris ascended. Holding out a hand, he helped the blond climb to the flat level of the road. Checking his friend over, he was pleased to find that Larabee hadn't gotten anything more than a bump on the forehead and sore wrists from fighting to steer.

"Got some signal and called the others and a tow truck. Reckon you're gonna be out a ride for a while though, Cowboy. Saw a Cadillac dealership back where we turned onto this road. Had a nice Coupe de Ville on display. It was even black. Reckon ya could get it." The sniper's wide smile was fully in evidence as he teased his boss.

"Hell no, I'm not gettin' a Cadillac! I'll have the Ram towed and just get it fixed. Don't think it's damaged too bad. If the frame's too warped, I'll get a new one."

"Insurance might be cheaper." suggested the shorter form with a snicker.

"I'll pay whatever it takes, Tanner."

With that, the duo settled down on a rock in the shade to watch their prisoners and wait for the rest of the team. Chris shook his head. Cadillac indeed! Vin knew he was, and always would be, a pickup man.

By DMA


End file.
